The Titanic: City Remembers the Ship That Did Not Come In

Experts say the tragic sinking of the Titanic can be blamed on low-grade rivets that the ship's builders used on some parts of the ill-fated liner. AP/file image.

On April 10, 1912, passengers expecting a luxurious journey or just a second chance in a new country left Southampton, England, on the Titanic’s widely publicized maiden voyage. Their ship, bound for New York City, sank off the coast of Newfoundland on the eve of April 15. Between crew and passengers, 1,514 people died at sea, among them famous millionaires who lived in Fifth Avenue mansions and humble emigrants bound for the Lower East Side tenements. As the Titanic Centennial approaches, events throughout New York City mark and pay tribute to that fateful night one-hundred years ago.

If spending time with Leo and Kate when “Titanic” 3D hits theaters on April 6 is not your cup of tea, here’s our roundup of Titanic-themed exhibits, tours and even a dinner that recreates the last meal served on board to upper-crust passengers.

What: A lecture by Gary Vollo, a member of the Titanic Historical Society. Guest speaker Joe Colletti will share his personal interviews with Titanic survivors and also talk about the conversion of his Long Island City home into the Titanic House. Original material from the house will also be on display as part of the exhibit. Also speaking is Lindsay Gibbs, author of the historical novel, “Titanic: The Tennis Story,” about two tennis players who survived the wreck and two years later, competed against each other in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.

*Related to this event, on April 7 at 1 p.m. the Greater Astoria Historical Society will host a free screening of “A Night to Remember,” a 1958 film. The two-hour film dramatizes the Titanic disaster from the perspective of real-life surviving ship officer. The film is followed by a conversation with Joe Colletti and Lindsay Gibbs.

The Titanic Memorial Cruise stops in Halifax for a visit to Fairview Lawn Cemetery, where victims of the RMS Titanic sinking are buried, and then travels to the disaster site for a memorial service. Photo courtesy of Miles Morgan Travel and Azamara Club Cruises.

What: An exclusive dinner party that recreates the last meal served on the Titanic, hosted at a secret Manhattan location. The event will feature a seven-course meal, designed by chef masterminds Jonathan Cristaldi, Adam Banks, and Rob McCue. (Whet your appetite with our Q&A with Cristaldi.)

Where: Location only revealed to registered guests

When: Saturday, April 14

Admission: VIP tickets are $450; first class seats ($300) are sold out

At the 41°North, 49°West dinner party, guests will dine on a menu recreated from the last meal served in first class aboard the Titanic before it sank. Photo courtesy of 41° North, 49° West.

What: New York’s only centennial anniversary performance of Gavin Bryars’ ambient elegy “The Sinking of the Titanic,” for orchestra and electronics. Performed in-the-round by the venue’s house band, Ensemble LPR, along with regulars from the Wordless Music Orchestra.

What: Experience the Titanic’s doomed voyage as Barry Denenberg, author of “Titanic Sinks!,” reads excerpts and discusses his book for young readers in the Barbara K. Lipman Children’s History Library at the New-York Historical Society. Questions surrounding the sinking of the Titanic will drive the discussion, designed for families with children eight and older. There will also be an opportunity to read a letter written by a Titanic survivor on stationary from The Carpathia, the rescue ship for Titanic survivors.

Among the Titanic passengers buried at Woodlawn are Isidor Straus, owner of Macy's department store, and his wife Ida, who chose to stay with her husband rather than board a lifeboat without him. Photo courtesy of The Woodlawn Cemetery.

What: Dr. J. Joseph Edgette, Professor Emeritus and Emeritus Folklorist at Widener University, shares some little known and newly discovered facts relating to the sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912. The Woodlawn Cemetery is home to graves and memorials for 12 people who were on board, including Isidor Straus, owner of Macy’s department store. (Other famous passengers of the ill-fated ship, such as John Jacob Astor, are buried at Trinity Church Cemetery in Lower Manhattan).

While I don’t wish to diminish the incredible story of the Titanic, I am always amazed that a twentieth century maritime tragedy of almost twice as many deaths is virtually unknown.

In Nov. 1945, a Norwegian ship, the Riegel (aka Riegal) under German command, was mistakenly bombed by British aircraft, while carrying Allied (mostly Russian) prisoners of war. 2,578 (and there are estimates of up to 3000) people lost their lives (as compared to the Titanic’s 1508). I learned of it thru a wonderful song “Riegal” by Tom Rapp (Pearls before Swine), and there is a Norwegian film documenting it (sadly, I’ve never seen it), narrated by the sole Norwegian survivor. There is an international gravesite near Tjotta, where the tragedy occurred.

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